A Raisin in the Sun is easily Lorraine Hansberry's best-known work, although her early death is certainly a factor in her limited oeuvre. From its beginning, this play was critically and commercially successful. After a brief run in New Haven, Connecticut, it opened on Broadway in 1959, where it ran for 530 performances. Although this was the first play written by a black woman to appear on Broadway, it received the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. A later adaptation won a Tony Award for best musical in 1974.

Newspapers reviewers were lavish in their praise of this performance. According to Francis Dedmond in an article published in American Playwrights since 1945, various critics complimented the work's "moving story" and "dramatic impact" as well as the play's "honesty" and "real-life characters." Magazine writers were equally enthusiastic. According to an article in Plays for the Theatre, this play is "one of...